Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to paper-punching systems for punching holes in pages in preparation for binding of booklets, proposals and the like. More particularly, the present application relates to an accumulator having a stopping and aligning mechanism, configured to gather and align a group of sheets of media in preparation for punching the holes.
Related Art
Multi-hole punching systems are widely used for preparing sheet media for binding with comb- or coil-type bindings, such as are shown in FIG. 12. Such punching systems come in a variety of styles and sizes depending on the type of binding, the dimensions of the sheet media, etc. When binding a document, report or other book using a comb-type or coil-type binding, the body pages of the document are usually first printed and collated, which is relatively easily done with high speed printing and copying systems that are widely available today. Where sheets of multiple types are to be combined in a single document, such as front and back covers, divider pages, cardstock, etc., these may be collated with the body pages or retained separately until the binding step, but are often collated by hand, which is relatively labor-intensive.
The collated body pages and the divider pages, covers, etc. are then punched with holes for binding. The pages of all types can be punched individually, either prior to or after collation, using a punching device that simultaneously punches all of the binding holes along an edge of the sheets, or they can be divided into lifts of a few sheets (e.g. 10 sheets each), and then inserted into the punching device that punches all of the binding holes in the entire lift. Manual-type multi-hole punches are widely used, and typically include a punch lever that is connected to a multi-hole punching die. The user inserts one edge of a sheet or lift of sheets beneath the die, and then punches the holes by pushing down on the lever. Power operated multi-hole punches are also available. Punching in lifts of a limited number of pages is typical because of the force required to simultaneously punch multiple holes through a stack of paper.
The individual sheets or individual lifts are punched one by one, and are then sequentially assembled on the forks of a binding machine, with the divider pages, covers sheets, etc. collated with the body pages. Once all body pages and other sheets are properly placed, the binding device (e.g. comb binding or coil binding) is inserted through the aligned holes in the sheet media to bind the punched edges.
It will be apparent that this process can take a significant amount of human labor in collating, punching, arranging and binding the sheets of media. This naturally increases the cost of the finished book, and also tends to increase the time involved in producing each copy. The present application is directed toward one or more of the above-mentioned issues.